David Graeber quotes

David Graeber was an influential American anthropologist, author, and activist known for his groundbreaking work on the nature of capitalism and bureaucracy. He gained widespread recognition for his books such as "Debt: The First 5000 Years" and "Bullshit Jobs: A Theory". Graeber was a professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics and was involved in numerous political movements. He was a prominent figure in the Occupy Wall Street movement and advocated for a more equitable and just economic system. Learn more about David Graeber and his impactful contributions to modern social theory.

Anarchism and anthropology go well together because anthropologists know that a society without a state is possible because so many exist.

- David Graeber

Anarchism is surprisingly effective in solving actual problems largely because anarchists have thought a lot about solving actual problems on a micro level in ways that other political ideologies don't really feel they have to until after they seize state power.

- David Graeber

Shit jobs tend to be blue collar and pay by the hour, whereas bullshit jobs tend to be white collar and salaried.

- David Graeber

Debt is the most effective way to take a relation of violent subordination and make the victims feel that it's their fault.

- David Graeber

Student loans are destroying the imagination of youth. If there’s a way of a society committing mass suicide, what better way than to take all the youngest, most energetic, creative, joyous people in your society and saddle them with, like $50,000 of debt so they have to be slaves? There goes your music. There goes your culture. There goes everything new that would pop out. And in a way, this is what’s happened to our society. We’re a society that has lost any ability to incorporate the interesting, creative and eccentric people.

- David Graeber

There seems a general rule that, the more obviously one’s work benefits other people, the less one is likely to be paid for it.

- David Graeber